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II Samuel
Chapter
11 (Continued)
{Ammonite
Counter-Attack Kills Uriah and His Men}
17~~And
the men of the city went out {counter-attacked},
{just as Joab anticipated}
and
fought with Joab
{the other three platoons withdrew and Uriah and his men were
overrun}
and
there 'were casualties'/
'fell
from the ranks and officers' of the army of David;
consequently,
Uriah the Hittite was also caused to die
{truly murder here}.
{Note:
The details of the counter-attack are covered in Joab's report to
David - this is the summary here.}
{Transitional
Verse}
18~~Then
Joab sent and reported to David
all
the events concerning the campaign.
{this is a weekly regular report - this time with a staff officer
to make additional explanations}
{Verses
19-22: Briefing Instructions to Staff Officer}
19~~And
he {Joab}
commanded
the 'staff officer'/messenger, saying,
"When
you have finished
reporting
all the events of the campaign
to
the king.
{Note: The report would only have scant details - the staff officer would know the details and he should die rather then be captured by the enemy so the campaign would not be damaged if he were captured on the way. He initially did not mention any names of people killed in this 'tactical error'.}
{Anticipated
Reaction - David would Pound Desk When Hearing of This Defeat}
20~~And
if the king becomes angry,
and
he says to you,
"Why
did you approach/'go near' the walls of the city to fight?
{means an actual assault of the city was ordered by Joab stupidly}
Did
you not know that they would shoot you from off the walls?
{Note: David had a manual of tactics. It said you do not approach the wall near a gate where a counter-attack is so likely. And, there also is a reference in the manual about what happened to Gideon's son Abimelech. Abimelech was the bastard son of Gideon. After Gideon's death, Abimelech murdered 69 of his 70 brothers and heirs to the throne. In the revolution, Abimelech got too close to a wall and a woman threw a millstone down and crushed his helmet. He ordered his adjutant to kill him so it would not be said he was killed by a woman. Abimelech was killed 1000 years before this event (in circa BC 1108- 1105) but it was well known among the Jews (see Judges 9:50-55). David refers to it in the next verse.}
21a~~Who
struck down Abimelech . . .
the
son of Jerubbesheth {nickname for Gideon}?
{Note: When Gideon tore down the idol to Baal, they gave him the name 'Jerubbaal' which means 'Baal contends for himself' (Judges 6:32). Since Abimelech was a bastard son, David used the 'nickname' of Jerubbesheth meaning 'contender with shame' - it is Abimelech who was the 'shame'.}
21b~~Did
not a woman throw a piece of a millstone
upon
him from the wall,
that
he {Abimelech} died in Thebez?
Why did you go near the wall?
Then
you {the staff officer reporting to David}
say
{to probably angry David},
"Your
servant . . . Uriah the Hittite . . . also died."
{Note: Joab is a tactical master himself. He is going to allow David to get all worked up over "Joab's stupidity". But when the time is right, add Uriah died . . . and David would be angry no more.}
{Verses
22-24: Change of Scene - Officer Reported to David in Jerusalem}
22~~Consequently
the 'staff officer'/messenger departed
{yalak - verb of sequential movement}
and
he came {to the military headquarters at Castle Zion}
and
reported to David all that which Joab had sent him.
{Note: Joab sent a written report and the Staff officer was to give the details not contained in the report (in case the enemy had captured the written report).}
23~~And
the 'staff officer'/messenger said unto David,
"At
that time,
{not all the report is given - David asked him something and he
responded}
the
enemy made a successful sortie against us,
and
launched a counter-attack against us in the field.
But we finally drove them back as far as the opening of the gate.
{Note: This final sentence is a bit of hypocrisy of the staff officer - trying to put a good shine on the disastrous situation.}
24~~Furthermore
the archers shot
at
your soldiers from off the wall
{Uriah turned his men to have the platoon front face the sortie
coming from the gates now he had a left flank dangling - facing
the enemy on the wall}
so
that some of the king's troops are dead . . .
and
your 'battalion commander' Uriah the Hittite has also died."
{Note: This staff officer is obviously not privy to the conspiracy. So, he does not know this is exactly what David ordered to happen and 4 Jewish officers conspired to make it happen.}
{Decadency,
Incompetence and Hierocracy of David as 'Mr. Hyde' (to his normal
Dr. Jekyll)}
25~~Then
David replied unto the 'staff officer'/messenger,
"'This
you will say'/'These are my instructions' to Joab,
'Do
not let this situation {tactical defeat} upset you.'
{idiom: literally 'Do not let this thing be evil in your eyes'}
'For
the sword devours one as well as another.' "
{this is a 'human viewpoint idiom' like 'whatever will be . . . will be'
it is saying battle takes the good as well as the evil and implies that
God does not control history. But He does control history.}
Press
your attack against the city and destroy it entirely!
{almost like a coach saying, 'Get back in their and FIGHT' - Joab
did not follow this order - all the civilians were not killed when the
city was taken}
Therefore,
you {the staff officer}
will
encourage them {Joab and his men}.
26~~Now
when the wife of Uriah {Bathsheba}
heard
that Uriah her husband was dead,
she
lamented over her lord/husband.
{Note: From I Samuel 31:13 apparently the period of mourning traditionally was 7 days. This verse indicates that Bathsheba did love her husband.}
{Degeneracy
of Interlocking Systems of Arrogance}
27~~And
when the mourning period had elapsed
{apparently 7 days},
then
David sent and took her into his castle.
And
she became his wife, and bore him a son.
{6 to 9 months now have passed - she was already pregnant}
But the thing that David had done was evil in the eyes of Jehovah/God.
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